About this title: A literary mystery that unravels the knotty puzzle of who killed Isaiah, a young boy who "fell" from the window of his parents' Copenhagen apartment. Isaiah's neighbor Smilla Qaavigaaq refuses to accept the police verdict of accidental death and begins to investigate the case on her own. Witty and self-assured, Smilla brings her own original ...
read more
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780374266448ISBN:0374266441
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. 453 p. Ex-Library expected imperfections. read more
"This was my first foray into Danish literature (I generally read British or American authors) and it will certainly not be my last. The basis of the book is a mysterious death, but it is also a quite pointed critique of the treatment of native Greenlanders by mainland Europe. As an American, I could not help but see parallels to my country's own behavior toward our native population, and it was striking how much of the novel resonated with the challenges we face here.
The cultural critique is stirring, but so is the mystery. Smilla herself is a bit of a mystery - her past is given in bits and pieces throughout the novel - and so, as it turns out, are several of the other characters. By the end of the novel, I always feel like I have just scratched the surface of these people's lives. The mystery is solved (mostly) and I always feel like I've got a lot of information to sort through as I'm reading, but there are so many questions left!
Smilla is a fascinating character, at once privileged and poor, helpless and incredibly resourceful. She has a self-sufficiency that is beyond anything one might find in day-to-day life, but weaknesses just like any other human. Each time I read this novel, I find that I wish I knew her but knowing even if I did, I'd never really "know" her."
"I went through a Peter Hoeg phase a while back, when I was still going through my "Don't read the books they've made into movies phase". It wasn't because I found movies a suitable substitute for books. Its just that I thought I could avoid the cliche by starting with authors second and third most famous books. I'm glad I did, because I think Borderliners is actually Hoeg's best book. But Smilla's in a close second, marred only by the goofy ending. I was surprised that it follows a fairly straight forward mystery novel format, and it makes it more enjoyable reading for the most part than his other works, if not as experimental. It was nice reading about the conflicts between Denmark and Greenland now, on the eve of Greenland making new steps in self-rule. And Smilla's a much more powerful and interesting character than Juliette Binoche would lead people to believe."
"Author Peter Hoeg obviously knows about snow. He also knows a great deal about history, geography, and politics in Denmark and Greenland. The way in which he weaves all of this together in his first book published in English is magical.
Hoeg may know less about women. As I was reading this book, I kept thinking that women do not look at sex this way and are not as violent as Smilla, the heroine. But perhaps that is only women I know (including myself). Being defiant and oppositional is in Smilla's nature. It is this that makes this story so remarkable. Long after most women would have given up, Smilla keeps investigating the death of her young friend, a 6-year old Inuit named Isaiah. Nothing stands between her and the truth; she barges her way in and out of situations with amazing strength of character and body.
I especially enjoyed learning about the Inuit culture and how these people, like many minorities, suffer in being transplanted or colonized. I look forward to reading another of Hoeg's books as soon as I return this one to my local library.
I was very surprised to read about Peter Hoeg on the flyleaf of this book. He's not only extremely handsome but has an interesting and unusual background. Obviously during his various careers he observed and stored images, knowledge, and emotion that make him an author of unmistakable richness. Bravo and thank you, Peter Hoeg."
"An interesting and complex book, with multiple topics. On the surface, there's a "detective story", involving the death of a young boy and the mysterious organisation behind it; what starts out as something of an amature procedural evolves into almost "action/adventure". Then there's a thread about the nature of nature and the role of science in defining it; who knew ice could be so interesting? The part that interested me most was the musing on colonial and post-colonial relationships, in this case between the Danes and the Greenlanders.
Another "interesting" thing was the translation, by Tiina Nunnally, of Washington State University. There are apparently some major diferences between the British edition and the American. I was bothered that the narrator gave all units of measure in US-friendly units. It was somewhat jarring; with all the Kalaalisut words, with the constant shifting of references to places (Qaannaaq/Thule, Nuut/Godthåb), I would have been able to handle meters and celsius."
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
